Prior methods for repairing damaged portions of pipelines include moving a liner tube impregnated with a liquid material capable of curing and hardening to a position within the pipe where the damaged portion is located. The liner tube is installed by pulling, pushing, or inverting the liner into the host pipe. Once the liner is positioned within the host pipe, it is pressurized, usually by an inflation bladder, causing the liner to press against the interior wall of the host pipe, and the liner is cured by applying heat, such as steam or hot water. These liners can also be cured at ambient temperatures by chemical mixtures that generate an exothermic reaction, the use of ultraviolet light or other photo curing initiators, or by electron beam curing. The liner tube forms an interior liner in the pipe for the pipeline being repaired. One such process is known as cured-in-place pipelining.
In most pipelines, lateral or branch pipes are connected to main pipes. In most cases, the lateral pipe connects to a main pipe by use of a factory made WYE or TEE-shaped fitting. However, in some cases the connection of a lateral pipe to a main sewer pipe is accomplished by forming a hole in the main line with a hammer. The lateral pipe is then simply abutted against the hole, and then the juncture is covered with mortar, dirt, or the like. Damage or leaking can occur at the junction between the lateral pipe and the main pipe, which is generally known as one of the weakest points in a collection sewer system. T-shaped or Y-shaped liner tubes have been utilized to fit within the junction between the lateral and main pipes. Liner tubes form a T-shaped or Y-shaped liner after hardening to the interior of the junction between the pipes. Again, inflation bladders are typically used to pressurize the liners against the interior walls of the host pipes.
Furthermore, some pipelines include additional pipes that extend off or from the lateral pipes. These supplemental pipelines, which may be lateral pipes or clean out pipes, may extend in a number of manners from the lateral pipe to service multiple buildings or drain lines. For example, a pipeline may exist at a distal end of the lateral pipe away from the main pipe, extending in opposite directions. This pipe may have an axis that is substantially parallel to the axis of the main pipe, or may have an axis in any angle relative to the axis of the main pipe. For example, the lateral connects from the main at a 12:00 location and extends to a bullheaded TEE fitting. The two branch pipes continue in two opposite directions from the mainline direction.
However, present pipe repair assemblies are not configured to repair these configurations of pipelines. Instead, while a main pipe, a lateral pipe, and the main/lateral connection may be repaired at the same time, a separate assembly will be needed to repair the additional or supplemental pipeline, or even the bullheaded TEE fitting. This increases the amount of time it takes to repair the pipes and does not renew the bullheaded TEE where leakage can continue to occur. The only solution has heretofore been to excavate the bullheaded TEE fitting. The resulting delay of this approach can increase the amount of money it takes to repair the pipes, as the process will need to take longer and likely utilize additional equipment and restoration to road pavement. Furthermore, there is no continuous liner for the sections, so there is no homogenous repair without cold joints.
Sewer clean out pipes or access pipes are often found along a lateral sewer pipe. A sewer clean out pipe is normally a capped pipe which provides access from the ground level to the sewer line. A lateral clean out pipe allows the cleaning of blockages in the lateral sewer pipe. The lateral clean out is also a point of entry for cured-in-place pipelining applications as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,343,937 which is incorporated by reference. In some instances, the pipe in need of repair may include not only the lateral pipe but the clean out pipe as well. However, pipe repair assemblies are not presently configured to line a lateral pipe on both sides of the sewer clean out when the clean out is the access point for the repair. Nor do pipe repair assemblies and lining methods exist for lining through a clean out to repair both the downstream portion of the lateral pipe and the junction between the main and lateral pipe. Similarly, using a clean out to rehabilitate a lateral pipe and a supplemental pipe in communication therewith is also problematic.
Therefore, there is a need in the art for a pipe repair assembly that is able to repair more pipes with a single assembly that has been previously made to match the configuration of the multiple pipes. There is also a need in the art for an assembly and method of repair that reduces the amount of time it takes to repair a pipe system having one or more pipes extending from a lateral pipeline.